US Department of Energy to provide US$22 million for research on capturing carbon dioxide from air

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has recently announced plans to provide up to US$22 million for research aimed at achieving breakthroughs in the efforts to capture carbon dioxide directly from ambient air.

The initiative encompasses two concurrent funding announcements - one by DOE’s Office of Science (SC) and another by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE) - and will span the spectrum from fundamental research in materials and chemical sciences to field testing of prototypes.

“Accelerating success in direct air capture of carbon dioxide would strengthen America’s energy security and open new avenues for commercial applications,” said Dr Chris Fall, Director of DOE’s Office of Science. “While we’ve seen real progress in this field, both basic and applied research are needed to develop highly effective direct air capture technologies on a large scale.”

For the SC funding opportunity, the DOE National Laboratories are invited to submit proposals for breakthrough fundamental research in materials and chemical sciences. Applicants are encouraged to find partners at universities, National Laboratories, and other institutions.

The FE funding opportunity announcement focuses on both the applied development of new materials and the field testing of prototypes. Eligible applicants include universities, non-profits and industry, with a 20% cost share.

“The Office of Fossil Energy is excited about leveraging our existing expertise and research and development on carbon capture, utilisation, and storage and working with other DOE offices to accelerate the development of direct air capture technologies,” noted Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg. “Our combined efforts and shared funding are clear examples of how the Department works seamlessly across offices.”

SC plans to provide a total of US$12 million for projects 3 years in duration, with US$4 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 and outyear funding contingent on congressional appropriations. FE will provide US$10 million in FY 2020 funds for projects from 2 to 3 years in duration.

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